Pokéstar Studios allows the player to take part in making films involving Pokémon. The films feature a scenario chosen by the player and a number of Pokémon battles. Pop Roxie, Brycen and Sabrina have co-starred in films produced in the studio.

The facility is run by an elderly man named Stu Deeoh (Japanese: ウッドウさんMr. Wood).

Making films

To make a film, the player must first choose whether to use a rental Pokémon or a Pokémon from their own party. However, the player is not allowed to use their party Pokémon in a film until they have filmed a Good Ending for it. Then, the player goes to a room with a green screen and faces a person in a Pokémon battle. During the battle, several script options are shown. The player must choose the option that best matches the movie script. The options chosen will determine the course of the film.

Once the filming is complete, the player can watch the movie in the theater, with up to eight films able to play in the theater simultaneously. Beyond eight, the player will have to choose between either deleting an existing film or not (the box sales records do remain even if a film is removed).

There are three types of endings that a movie can get:

Good Ending - Generated by following the script. Creates a good, if predictable, ending. Getting the good ending usually unlocks the next movie in the series. The player can tell they are getting the good ending based on the pleased reactions of the director.

Bad Ending - Generated by deviating from the script, such as acting out of character (acting scared when playing a superhero, not acting scared when a zombie appears, etc.) or not completing the battle puzzle properly. Directors have an aggravated response when triggering a bad ending.

Strange Ending - Generated by deviating from the script a certain way, causing a puzzled response from the director. Strange endings change the nature of the movie entirely and generate a shocked reaction.

If the player manages to create a strange ending with their own Pokémon, their Pokémon will become a star and will be given a special entry animation, much like when a Shiny Pokémon is sent out. The entry animation will be removed if the player then creates a bad ending using the same Pokémon. Pokémon that know Transform, Torment, or Metronome are banned from participating in films. Pokémon with Illusion and Imposter are also forbidden.

Star rank

The man at the door to the soundstage will inform the player when their star rank increases. The table below shows the requirements and rewards for each star rank.

Layout

In the anime

Pokéstar Studios appeared in An Epic Defense Force!. The president of Pokéstar Studios is Mr. Gold, who has also directed many successful movies. Ash, Iris, and Cilan helped their friend Luke to film a movie to be featured at a film making competition held at the studios.

In the manga

Pokéstar Studios in Pokémon Adventures

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Pokéstar Studios was featured in Movie Panic, where Cheren took his Aspertia Trainers' School class to visit the studios. Whitley got to act in a Brycen-Man movie, but in the middle of the shooting, Mecha Tyranitar appeared and started attacking everyone. The mecha was stopped by Blake and his Dewott, and the scene was added to the movie. After watching the movie, the class left the studios.

At the Pokéstar Studios, it was revealed that Sabrina was an actress performing there, and that White had been involved in creating the studios.

Stu Deeoh

Movie theater

Filming studio

Green screen

Trivia

Its name in Japanese, Korean and European languages, Pokéwood, is based on the name Hollywood.

The film directors are all named after real-life Hollywood directors. "Sydney Pokémet", credited as director in the movies, is a reference to Hollywood icon Sidney Lumet. Likewise, "John Pokénter" and "David Pokénch" pay homage to John Carpenter and David Lynch, respectively.

If a Shiny Pokémon with the star animation is sent out, the Pokémon's Shiny animation will not play. However, it will still retain its Shininess. This also applies to any of N's Pokémon.

It is possible to Surf in the furthest tree tile to the right outside the theater building at Pokéstar Studios due to a glitch.

Pokéstar Studios is the only place in the main series games in which the player character is shown speaking, unless the debatable Copycat dialogue and answers to questions are counted.